


Join the Pack

by Hoxooster



Category: Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: Dog - Freeform, Family, Fluff, M/M, Nellis, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-05
Updated: 2014-02-05
Packaged: 2018-01-11 07:51:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1170559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hoxooster/pseuds/Hoxooster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nick has a dog, and she has some warming up to do with Ellis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Join the Pack

**Author's Note:**

  * For [http://asknickandellis.tumblr.com/](/gifts?recipient=http%3A%2F%2Fasknickandellis.tumblr.com%2F).



> This is a gift for the people of the asknickandellis tumblr. I hope you guys like it, and that the color of the Shiba Inu is okay with y'all. And, I hope you guys get a kick out of how I wrote her.
> 
> (It was weird for me to write her with the name 'Jack', just sayin'. Made me laugh more than a few times.)

After most of the Zombocalypse shitstorm had toned down, and everyone had found one another again, the others were quite surprised to find out that Nick had gotten a dog during the interim, once he'd settled in an apartment. They'd just figured that he didn't like animals, or that he didn't want to be tied down by the commitment of caring for something other than himself. The truth was that he loved dogs, having many fond memories of having one as a kid, and since there were still zombies roaming around outside the cleared zones, it wasn't like he could really go anywhere anyway. So when the female cream Shiba Inu, christened 'Jack', came to the attention of the other six survivors, they were all thrown for a loop.

Jack, however, was more of a perfect fit for Nick than anyone had first imagined. She wasn't a _'puppy'_ by any means, as the conman had adopted her at the age of three, and had her immediately spayed, spouting, "I am **not** gonna subject myself to a horny, female dog-version of Ellis, who's bouncing off the walls." Her sexual maturity, from being left as she was for so long before the surgery, had calmed her a great deal and made her seem like an older businesswoman, knowledgeable and collected, and her natural temperament was a mirror to Nick's. She had a lot of pride, _obsessed_ over self-cleanliness, kept mostly to herself, was independent, and seemed to only have loyalty and love for the gambler. Hell, she even acted the same way towards the other survivors as he did. Louis was ignored, Francis' legs were playfully pushed when he least expected it, Zoey always got the cold shoulder, Rochelle was given respectful distance, Coach was listened to and given some leeway in giving Jack orders, and Ellis was accepted in an eye-rolling, _whatever-he's-just-a-pup_ kind of way.

Overtime, though, that last sentiment started to change for the dog, as she noticed a marked change in her alpha's behavior towards the youngest male in the group. Nick would usually come home with the smell of smoke, money, perfume, and the arousal of a woman on him, especially if he would return really late in the evening. But, once the other survivors, especially the mechanic, started to come to the apartment, the scents of the life of gambling and one night stands began to fade from the conman's clothes and skin. She wasn't sure why this was happening, but Jack sensed that her human had missed the others, and that he'd only gotten those previous nose wrinkling smells on him because he was lonely. But, in the end, it didn't really matter to her that Nick had changed his ways. He was home a lot more often, which she was over the moon about, and usually some of the others were with him as well, which made them all part of the Pack in her eyes.

Out of the group, Ellis seemed to be her alpha's favorite, as she could practically taste the northerner's excitement whenever the Georgian was around, and he was over the most often. At first, she was more than a little bit jealous of the young human, as Nick was more prone to ignore her whenever the pup was around. But she couldn't exactly stay miffed for long, since the southerner always went out of his way to lavish attention and affection on her, when she allowed it, and he really knew how to scratch her back just right. So it took a little time, but she became tolerant of his presence, and actually came to look forward to Ellis' visits to her and her alpha's territory.

However, a couple of months after the other survivors first started coming to the apartment, her view of the pup was completely upheaved late one night while he was over. She was in the kitchen, eating her dinner and making damn sure that she ate every last bit of it, when she heard some odd noises coming from the hallway. Only pausing once she had finished her food, Jack lifted her head to listen for more sounds without the rumble of chewing in her ear, and licked her chops clean. Once she heard the noises again, she decided to go and see what was causing them, ears straining and paw pads silent on the carpeted floor outside the dining area. From the muffled quality and directionality of it, the noises sounded like they were coming from Nick's room. The door leading inward was slightly ajar, so she aimed herself toward it, determined to get to the bottom of this.

She stopped in front of the door, twitching her nose for a second at the heady smell of arousal, before she finally forced her muzzle through the gap and stuck her head inside the room. Jack blinked disinterestedly up at the naked forms of Nick and Ellis for a moment, finally figuring out that it was the mechanic that was making the noises that she had heard. But then she started to put the pieces together in her mind, as the southerner continued to gasp and moan in response to every movement the conman made. The scent, sounds, movement, and neck biting... They were _rutting_.

Holding her head up straight, Jack backed out of the doorway and turned go to lay down on her bed in the living room, taking a moment to arrange the cushion to be more comfortable and laying her head neatly on her paws. Her alpha and the pup were mating... Well, that certainly changed things. Nick had never brought any mates home before, so this made Ellis special, and _'special'_ meant that she would have to treat him differently. Jack thought about it for a minute, trying to see herself following the young human's orders as if he were her alpha, too. Her nose crinkled in response to the mental images. There was no way in the Pound that she would take any order of his seriously, especially if he called her _'Jacky baby girl'_ , as he was wont to do.

Pawing at her muzzle and snorting in slight frustration, she tried to think of something that would be more agreeable with her situation. Maybe... Maybe she could just adopt the southerner... That would work, right?... He'd be higher up in the pack, but he would stay in his established limbo state of pup and omega, and not infringe on her alpha's authority. Yeah... She could work with that. Her ears flicked at the sound of both of the humans' muffled cries of pleasure, and she figured that they were done coupling for the night. She moved to sit up straight and watched the door, waiting to see if they would come out of the other room, and perked up once they did.

The men seemed tired, but satisfied as they walked into the kitchen, Nick hovering behind Ellis as the younger made himself a cup water, and they didn't seem to notice Jack as she trailed behind them. She fixed that right quick with a sharp bark for attention as she sat down. As soon as their eyes alighted on her, she made a rumble in her throat and lifted a paw to pat the ground with, telling the pup to come to her. When that just got her nothing but some meaningless words from the humans, she stood to get closer to them and headbutted the mechanic's leg, making a quieter bark. He was just a pup after all, so maybe he needed gentler commands.

When he finally crouched in front of her, she wagged her tail and licked his nose. _'Good boy.'_ Ellis made a sound that she recognized as happy, and she let him pet her head and sides for a moment, before she reached out a paw to place on his shoulder. She rumbled quiet growls, whines, and howls at him, hoping that he understood her. "Good boy. Pup in pack-pack. Alpha happy. Jack happy. Alpha is pup mate. Pup is Jack pup. Pup happy. Pack happy. Stay. Good boy." Licking his forehead for good measure, she nuzzled her head into the Georgian's hands and wagged her tail, hoping that her acceptance of the young man made the conman happy, like she had said. Feeling that familiar large hand of Nick's on her back had her wagging her tail even harder than before, and she let out the customary Shiba scream to tell them both of her happiness as she licked at their hands.

_'Good girl. Pack happy. Alpha happy. Pup happy. Jack happy. Good girl.'_


End file.
